Looking for Kindness Amidst Anxiety with Old Reverend Randell

Salt Cellar Arts presents Looking for Kindness Amidst Anxiety, a one man show by Old Reverend Randell (aka Randell Neudorf) in the storytelling tradition of the Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean.

Throughout the evening Old Reverend Randell will share about his mental health journey through songs, stories, and lots of cartoon drawings taken straight out of his art journal. The aesthetic of the show is quirky and nostalgic with the use of vintage guitars, a telephone mic, and even an old school overhead projector.

Here is what Randell has to say about the show:

It all started with some cartoons I made in my art journal while struggling with a year of prolonged anxiety attacks. Through therapy, the idea of kindness became very important to me. I began to share my stories along side my Kindness Cartoons and it really resonated with people and helped me feel seen. It started to feel like these drawings wanted to live somewhere outside my art journal, so I turned them into a little book called "Looking for Kindness Amidst Anxiety."

Around the same time I was also working on my debut album "4-track Gospel" under the stage name . These songs were all about how things like anxiety and chronic pain left me feeling like I didn't fit in, especially at church. The album ends with the title track, an epic story that uses the image of a 4-track tape recorder (how musicians did home recording before computers) as a metaphor. I imagined the gospel writers: Mathew, Mark, Luke & John used up all the tape and there was no place left for me. The song then flips to what can only be described as a mystical experience. In the transition I sing, “It’s kind of strange to say, it’s event stranger to sing. I don’t need you to believe it, or even receive it, I just need to tell it, the way that I felt it!”

I began to realize that these two projects were really one story. As I have had the chance to share pieces of this project at art shows, youth centres, and concert venues, people always tell me, "You were really speaking my language!" I think most people can identify with the struggles of mental health and we are all looking to find a little more kindness in our lives.

That is the story I'll be sharing in the Back Hall of , on Friday, January 30th, 2026. A big thank you to and for hosting this event.

IMPORTANT INFO:

Date: Friday, January 30th, 2025

Doors Open at 7:30pm: This is a great time to check out the art and grab a coffee or tea.

Performance Begins at 8pm: Don't be late, we would hate for you to miss anthing.

Books & Art Prints will be for sale by Cash or E-transfer before and after the performance.

Advanced Ticket Sale through Eventbrite: $10 for Adults ($5 for kids & teens) if purchased by January 25th. Tickets at the door will be $20 each.

All Ages Event: Kids 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult and able to sit through a 75 minute performance

Location: Back Hall of Eucharist Church, 130 Victoria Ave N (enter by the side door on Evans Ave).

Parking: There is lots of street parking available in the neighbourhood. There is no parking lot.

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Host or Publisher Randell Neudorf